Score one for typical Washington politics. The Washington DC vouchers program was defeated in the senate last week by a 58-39 vote. Last week I wrote about how important this program was to kids on the lower economic scale. I know that I benefitted from a school where education was a priority and discipline and values were always a part of the curriculum. Private schooling does not work for every child, but the kids in the Washington DC area had a chance to try something new. What’s more, if the public school system complains of overcrowding, wouldn’t they benefit with some kids going to a different school? Well the votes are in. Here are the senators that sent these kids back to a failed school system:

NAYs ---58

Akaka (D-HI)

Baucus (D-MT)

Bayh (D-IN)

Begich (D-AK)

Bennet (D-CO)

Bingaman (D-NM)

Boxer (D-CA)

Brown (D-OH)

Burris (D-IL)

Cantwell (D-WA)

Cardin (D-MD)

Carper (D-DE)

Casey (D-PA)

Conrad (D-ND)

Crapo (R-ID)

Dodd (D-CT)

Dorgan (D-ND)

Durbin (D-IL)

Feingold (D-WI)

Feinstein (D-CA) Gillibrand (D-NY)

Hagan (D-NC)

Harkin (D-IA)

Inouye (D-HI)

Johnson (D-SD)

Kaufman (D-DE)

Kerry (D-MA)

Klobuchar (D-MN)

Kohl (D-WI)

Landrieu (D-LA)

Lautenberg (D-NJ)

Leahy (D-VT)

Levin (D-MI)

Lincoln (D-AR)

McCaskill (D-MO)

Menendez (D-NJ)

Merkley (D-OR)

Mikulski (D-MD)

Murkowski (R-AK)

Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL)

Nelson (D-NE)

Pryor (D-AR)

Reed (D-RI)

Reid (D-NV)

Rockefeller (D-WV)

Sanders (I-VT)

Schumer (D-NY)

Shaheen (D-NH)

Snowe (R-ME)

Specter (R-PA)

Stabenow (D-MI)

Tester (D-MT)

Udall (D-CO)

Udall (D-NM)

Webb (D-VA)

Whitehouse (D-RI)

Wyden (D-OR)

There are good arguments on both sides. I know the unions spent a lot of money trying to shut this down. But the most compelling argument for the DC Voucher program was that it was working. We’re one country – and this week we defunded a program that was working, and sent kids into another program that was not working so well. Change we can believe in?